Browsing by Author "Santos, Rita"
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- Parenting sense of competence: Psychometrics and invariance among a community and an At-Risk Samples of Portuguese ParentsPublication . Nunes, Cristina; Ayala-Nunes, Lara; Ferreira, Laura Inês; Pechorro, Pedro; Freitas, Délia; Martins, Cátia; Santos, RitaParenting sense of competence (PSC) is a cognitive and emotional construct that refers to the judgments that parents hold about their abilities as caregivers. It also includes parents’ beliefs about their capacity to positively influence their children’s development and their satisfaction with the parenting role [1–3]. This construct has been widely studied and is a relevant dimension for the assessment and understanding of family dynamics. Parenting sense of competence has been associated to several family dimensions, such as marital relationship and family functioning [2,4,5]. For instance, mothers’ sense of competence has been positively linked to coparenting support [6], and a reciprocal relationship between perceived parental competence and marital stress over a 6-year interval has been reported for both mothers and fathers [7]. It is especially important to assess this construct in families who are at psychosocial risk [8–12]—i.e., families that have difficulties in adequately meeting children’s needs but not severely enough to require children’s placement in foster care [13]. This is because research has suggested indirect relationships between PSC and potential for child abuse [14] and maltreatment [15]. Similarly, PSC is thought to be a protective factor for negative outcomes, buffering the impact of risk factors such as maternal depression, children’s difficult temperament, and disadvantaged environments [16,17].
- The dark side of multimedia devices: negative consequences for socioemotional development in early childhoodPublication . Rocha, Bruno; Ferreira, Laura Inês; Martins, Cátia; Santos, Rita; Nunes, CristinaThere is growing concern about the relationship between screen use by young children and negative effects on their development, as children with developmental and socioemotional impairments tend to have difficulties in their relationships and increased academic problems. The aim of our study was to analyse the relationship between the use of multimedia devices and paediatric symptoms in children below 5 years old. Data from 534 Portuguese parents of children aged from 18 to 57 months were collected via a self-report questionnaire. Children’s daily exposure to multimedia devices was nearly 2 h per day. Paediatric symptoms were positively associated with watching television and screen time and negatively associated with parents’ working hours. Touchscreen use was more frequent among girls and older children. Parents’ working hours comprised the most significant predictor of paediatric symptoms. Our findings reinforce past findings on the adverse links between the use of multimedia devices and paediatric symptoms and also highlight the influence of other variables like the child’s age and gender, as well as parental factors. The need to both create a more comprehensive framework regarding the long-term effects of multimedia device use and delineate effective strategies for prevention and intervention with parents and children is discussed.
- The volunteer functions inventory (VFI): Adaptation and psychometric properties among a portuguese sample of volunteersPublication . Martins, Cátia; da Silva, José Tomás; Jesus, Saúl; Ribeiro, Conceição; Estêvão, M. Dulce; Baptista, Ricardo; Carmo, Cláudia; Brás, Marta; Santos, Rita; Nunes, C.: The Volunteer Functions Inventory (VFI) is an instrument widely used to assess volunteers’ motivation based on the Functionalist Model of Omoto and Snyder. It assesses six factors that reflect several motivational functions. The VFI has been translated into various languages and validated in different cultural contexts, but some studies have reported different factor structures (e.g., five or four factors). In the Portuguese context, previous studies have also shown inconsistent results. The aim of this study was to adapt and validate the VFI for Portuguese volunteers, testing several alternative models (nine models) using confirmatory factor analysis. The sample comprised 468 volunteers (76.3% women), aged from 13 to 81 years (M = 36.66, SD = 14.93). The results support the original interrelated six-factor model as the best-fitting one. The VFI showed good internal consistency and convergent validity. Significant correlations were found between the VFI factors, organizational commitment, and volunteers’ satisfaction. Overall, the six-factor VFI is a valid and reliable tool for measuring the motivational functions of Portuguese volunteers, with implications for practice and research in the volunteering field.